


Sickeningly Sweet (Like Honey)

by littlewonu



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Age Play Caregiver Choi Seungcheol, Age Play Caregiver Hong Jisoo, Age Play Caregiver Wen Junhui, Age Play Little Chwe Hansol, Age Play Little Jeon Wonwoo, Age Play Little Kim Mingyu, Age Regression/De-Aging, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Eventual Romance, Fluff, Happy Ending, Jeon Wonwoo is A Sweetheart, M/M, Non-Sexual Age Play, None Of This Is Sexual, SO MUCH FLUFF, Slow Burn, Wen Junhui is Whipped, bit of a, gratuitous use of the word "baby", not in my good christian household
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-08
Updated: 2019-01-24
Packaged: 2019-10-06 14:51:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17347223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlewonu/pseuds/littlewonu
Summary: Wonwoo was bad at handling stress. Or rather, he didn’t handle stress at all. One of Wonwoo’s methods was simple. He’d feel the stress starting to build, like a volcano bubbling before eruption, in his stomach. He’d let it fester for a few days. And when he felt like he was about to burst, he’d simply swallow it. Pack it up and toss it out to the sea like a message in a bottle.There was, of course, another method. It was a little more complex. One he’d been relying on for the past four years. But unfortunately, he hadn’t had the time. The place. The company.And so here he was.





	1. intro

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for clicking on my little (heh, see what i did there) fic 
> 
> this chapter is for my good friend arle <3 we've literally read every single ls fic out there and i was tired of pouting for more  
> so i decided  
> "you know what.....maybe i'll just DO IT MYSELF"
> 
> please enjoy ~

Wonwoo was bad at handling stress. Or rather, he didn’t handle stress at all. One of Wonwoo’s methods was simple. He’d feel the stress starting to build, like a volcano bubbling before eruption, in his stomach. He’d let it fester for a few days. And when he felt like he was about to burst, he’d simply swallow it. Pack it up and toss it out to the sea like a message in a bottle.

There was, of course, another method. It was a little more complex. One he’d been relying on for the past four years. But unfortunately, he hadn’t had the time. The place. The company.

And so here he was.

He was at the bubbling point right now as he sat in his university’s library, staring blankly at his chemistry textbook. Wonwoo was never really much of a science guy, the jargon sat awkwardly on his tongue when he’d try to answer questions in class and he barely got by on his homework. But the midterm exam was coming up and he needed at least an eighty percent to maintain his incredibly average grade. Wonwoo was fine with average. So long as he didn’t have to retake the class, he didn’t care about a C on his transcript. It’s not like anyone in the real world, the adult world that was, would ask for it when he’d apply for jobs.

But that was a thought for another time.

Wonwoo started to reread, for the twentieth time, about how overlapping orbital atoms can differ, when he felt the chair across the table moved and he looked up to see Mingyu flopping himself down at the table with a loud _thud._

“I think I’m dying.”

This made Wonwoo smile a little bit, not in happiness that his friend was supposedly dying, but because he was probably just being dramatic. As it usually was with Mingyu.

“Join the club.”

“This is a shitty club,” Mingyu lifted his head off the table and rested his chin on the palm on his hand, “I want out.”

“Too bad the only way out would be to literally drop out. And I’m pretty sure Seungcheol would kick your ass if you tried that.”

The other huffed at that, puffing his lips out and shaking his head.

“Please, he’d be mad for a little bit. But he’s the one with the big boy job and his name on the big boy bills. Speaking of him, are you still coming over later?”

Wonwoo nodded, “yeah. I just have to finish this chapter summary paper and then we can go together, if you want?”

“Sure! I don’t mind waiting.”

Mingyu and Wonwoo fell into a comfortable silence, the other reading a book that Wonwoo didn’t recognize while Wonwoo struggled to stretch out the chapter summary to the required one thousand words. He used a lot of fluff sentences, as he always did, and he knew his professor would comment on that. But his professor also knew that Wonwoo just didn’t _get this stuff_ and would cut him some slack.

His head was starting to hurt. But not in the traditional achy way, more of like a shrinking feeling. Just a few more sentences and then he’d be on his way to Seungcheol’s, able to alleviate the feeling. Sink into it. It had been a while, and it was starting to show. He’d been isolating himself too much lately but that was the downside of living in a studio, he supposed. It was easy to hole himself away, hide. Wonwoo, at first, thought it would be a great idea to live alone. He could slip whenever he wanted, do whatever he wanted. But that, it turned out, was a much greater problem. It was hard to take care of himself, he realized. He couldn’t do it. And so, his once fortress of safeness and space to be totally himself became a cave of loneliness and takeaway pizza.

Wonwoo typed the last sentence, wrapping up the paper nicely, or as nice as he could, before saving it, sending it off to his professor, and closing his laptop with a dramatic sigh. Mingyu dog eared his book and tucked it into his backpack, zipping it up as he stood with a relieved smile, “please, let’s get out of here.”

The bus ride to Mingyu and Seungcheol’s shared apartment was filled with Mingyu showing Wonwoo funny videos of cats and dogs on his phone and Wonwoo shrinking into his friend’s side to hide his laughter from the other passengers. Mingyu nudged him lightly when their stop came and the two quickly got off the bus, walking just a few short steps to the entrance of the apartment building before stepping into the warmth. It was winter now and Wonwoo’s lips were chapped and nose was nipped from the air.

Entering the apartment was swift and the two boys were tangled up with giggles and trying to step out of their shoes as quickly as possible.

“Whoa, whoa. What’s the rush?” Seungcheol entered the front room, laughing at the two as he wiped his hands on a dishtowel. Seungcheol had been Mingyu’s boyfriend for three years and one of Wonwoo’s best friends for the same time. He’d liked the older as soon as he’d met him. He made Mingyu happy, which was really enough for him, but he was warm and inviting. He was a safe place for Wonwoo. Not a permanent one, but a filler for the time being.

“Hey, Cheolie. Thanks for letting me come over.”

“Won, you’re always welcome here. I just finished making dinner. You two hungry?”

“Starving! I didn’t eat lunch at school because you know how gross our cafeteria’s food is? Disgusting!” Mingyu’s lisp was more pronounced and he started to bounce on his heels a little, giving Wonwoo a sure-fire sign that it was okay for him to fall.

“Yeah, baby, I know. But you need to eat lunch, okay? It’s not good for you to go that long without food. Why don’t I start packing you lunches? Would you like that?”

“Yes! Yes, please. Oh, can you make me those yummy sandwiches you always make?”

Seungcheol laughed at this and ushered them both into the kitchen, sitting them down at the table before going back to the counter and plating whatever it was he made them for dinner. Wonwoo sat all the way back in the chair, as far as he could so his feet didn’t touch the ground. He liked it better that way. They swung back in forth a little bit and he couldn’t help the smile that crept over his face as he felt warmth rising in his chest.

“How was your day at school, Wonwoo? Did you eat lunch?”

“Um, no.”

“Ah,” the older tutted as he set the plates down in front of them, “what am I going to do with you two, huh? Need me to follow you around school?” He reached out and ruffled Wonwoo’s hair delicately as he also sat down, causing the other to blush and look down at his plate.

“Daddies don’t go to college!” Mingyu half shouted and Seungcheol was quick to shush him gently, “no shouting at the table, baby. And I’m sure they do! You’d be surprised. Eat your food now and then we can play. What do we feel like doing today?”

Mingyu was quick to start shoveling the food into his mouth, something Wonwoo was almost amazed by. His friend was tall and well built but managed to be one of the cutest boys that Wonwoo found himself jealous of. He looked down at his plate again and wanted to eat the food, he did, his stomach was practically screaming at him to pick up the fork and eat. But he couldn’t.

“Daddy, Wonu wants to be like me today, you have to help him!” Mingyu said through a mouthful of food, to which Seungcheol wrinkled his nose up at and Wonwoo hid a giggle behind his hand.

“Manners! First the shouting, now this? You’re going to be in big trouble if you keep it up, mister,” Seungcheol pointed his fork at Mingyu before setting it down and turning to Wonwoo, “is that okay, Won? You want help? I know it’s been a while. It’s okay, you know. I’m here.” Seungcheol reached out his hand and took Wonwoo’s gently, rubbing his thumb over the back of his hand in the most reassuring of ways. It was really all he needed. The affirmation. The affection, even if platonic.

Sometimes it felt like an ocean wave washing over him, sometimes it felt like he was riding on a roller-coaster and was about to hit the drop. Today it felt like opening the curtains to see a bright, beautiful, sunny day. His skin felt warm and everything seemed to shrink yet fall into place perfectly.

“Yes, please.” He spoke quietly and Seungcheol gave his hand a squeeze before sliding Wonwoo’s plate in front of him and cutting his food quickly.

“Wonu is a baby and needs his food cut!”

“I’m not a baby.”

“You are a baby!”

“I am not!” Wonwoo pouted and Mingyu poked his tongue out at him playfully.

“Boys, settle. Wonwoo _is_ a baby,” Seungcheol spoke, sliding the plate back in front of him and Wonwoo looked at him with hurt painted across his face, “but he’s a cute baby. And we love having him here.”

The words made Wonwoo’s face heat up and he tried to hide this by diving into his food, enjoying how much better it was than anything he was able to get for himself when he was alone. Seungcheol was always a really good cook and always went out of his way to make sure Wonwoo had food. He’d sometimes stop by his apartment with containers of leftovers and instructions on how to reheat it. On those days, Wonwoo found it hard to keep himself from falling, so Seungcheol would stay and make sure he got tucked in okay. They’d even play a few games and watch a movie. Wonwoo was lucky enough to have Seungcheol let him color on multiple occasions, drawings that Seungcheol kept in a folder in his office. He liked those nights.

“Daddy! I’m done! See?” Mingyu held up his empty plate and Seungcheol smiled, “good job, baby. Can you go wash your hands and get settled in the living room while I wait for Wonu to finish?”

Mingyu nodded and was quick to dart off, almost tripping on himself on he did, and Wonwoo set to finishing his food quickly so they could play.

“Hey, slow down, okay? It’s Friday night so we’ve got plenty of time to play, little one. Do you want to borrow some of Gyu’s clothes? I know you’re probably not to comfortable in those big boy clothes!”

He wasn’t. His jeans were stiff, and his sweater was too small. He felt like he was suffocating.

“Yes, please.”

“Always so polite, Wonu. Such a good boy, you are.”

His heart soared at the praise Seungcheol gave him and he smiled, “thank you, Cheolie.”

The rest of the night was a whirlwind of everything Wonwoo needed. He’d been changed into one of Gyu’s biggest blue sweaters and comfy pajamas pants decorated with the cutest llamas in scarves. Wonwoo liked llamas. He thought their necks were really funny. The three of them agreed to watch two movies, Mingyu picked Finding Nemo again and now they were watching Wonwoo’s pick, My Neighbor Totoro. He was tucked into Seungcheol’s side, knees pressed up against his chest and his head resting on Seungcheol’s shoulder. His fingers were sore from coloring so many pages and he still had green crayon residue on his index finger despite Seungcheol washing his hands a few times.

Mingyu was sitting forward on the couch, knees bouncing and hands wrapped around the large green sippy cup that was filled with juice. Wonwoo licked his lips and glanced up at Seungcheol, who seemed engrossed in the movie and Wonwoo didn’t want to bother him. But he really _really_ wanted some juice.

“I can feel you looking at me, little bee. What do you need?”

He didn’t really feel like talking so he very lowly gestured to Mingyu’s cup.

“Ah, some juice. Okay, scoot up. I’ll grab you some.”

Wonwoo sat up so Seungcheol could get up and the space in the couch was quickly filled by Mingyu, who had probably had more sugar than Seungcheol would’ve liked, but they hadn’t had a sleepover in a long time. And Seungcheol always did go a little easy on Mingyu.

“I love this movie, Wonu! Daddy, daddy, hey, next time we go shopping, can Wonu and I get matching Totoro plushies? That would be super cute! Daddy, hey! Are you listening?” Mingyu shot off in rapid succession, causing both Seungcheol and Wonwoo to laugh.

“It’s hard not to listen to you, baby. I think you’re right, that would be super cute,” he returned to Wonwoo with his own blue cup, which Wonwoo quickly took and popped into his mouth, “we’ll look for some next time we go out. You want to stay sitting in the middle?”

Mingyu nodded and threw an arm around Wonwoo, pulling him close. Wonwoo fit into his large friend’s side with ease and stayed quiet, enjoying his juice and the heat radiating off of Mingyu’s body.

“I want to cuddle with Wonu.”

“Don’t squeeze him so tightly, you know he’s smaller than you.”

“’is o’ay” Wonwoo spoke around the lip of his cup and Seungcheol smiled, “okay. We’ll finish this movie and then it’ll be lights out. I’ve let you two stay up way too late.”

Mingyu groaned lightly but nodded anyway and sunk further into the couch, taking Wonwoo with him.

“Oh, hey, daddy! Can Vernnie come over soon?”

“I don’t know if I can handle all three of you at once.”

“Shua will come with him!”

Wonwoo watched as the two of them went back and forth about their other friends, catching every other word it seemed. Vernon and Joshua were the only other friends they really had, or at least the only other ones who were like them. Wonwoo liked Joshua. He’d always bring him candy and pet his hair. Vernon was funny, he’d always go out of his way to play with Wonwoo when Mingyu was being a little too rambunctious for him to keep up with. Wonwoo was the _littlest_ out of the three, he went further into his head space than they did. Vernon was bigger, he used big words and didn’t like to color. He liked to play with trucks and would always offer Wonwoo one. Wonwoo tried to put one in his mouth once, Vernon didn’t let him.

He remembered Joshua jokingly calling Vernon Wonwoo’s big brother. Wonwoo liked the sound of that.

Wonwoo was too lost in his own thoughts and making sure he’d finished every drop of juice that he didn’t notice the movie was over and it was time for bed.

“Alright, you two. Time to brush your teeth and go to sleep.”

Seungcheol patted Wonwoo’s legs as Mingyu stood up and quickly rushed to the bathroom before them.

“Here, give me this,” He took the cup from Wonwoo, who pouted lightly and Seungcheol laughed, “don’t pout! You can have more tomorrow if you’re still feeling up for it. And hey, little bee, are you feeling alright tonight? You’ve been a lot more quiet than you normally are. You know you can tell me anything.”

Wonwoo bounced around a few thoughts in his mind. Technically he was okay. He was happy and content. He felt warm and safe. But something still wasn’t right. It was always like this, he guessed. Wonwoo interlocked his own fingers and started playing with them as he bit his lip. He knew he could tell Seungcheol everything. He’d known that for a long time.

“Do,” he paused and looked up shyly, “do you think I’ll ever have my own daddy?”

Seungcheol let out a small breath through his nose and smiled lightly, tucking Wonwoo into his arms as he started to pet his hair down, “anybody would be so lucky to have you, Wonu. I know it’s probably lonely for you sometimes. And there’s only so much I can do to fill that. But I promise you, one day, you’ll find somebody. And he will love you more than anything. You’re such a precious little boy, one of the best in this world. Someone will see that the way that I do, okay? I promise. But for now, let’s go to bed, yeah? You look exhausted.”

He was. Exhausted for a lot of reasons. But Seungcheol’s answer sated him and filled him with a type of happiness that allowed him to smile as he nodded.

“Okay, Cheolie. Bed time.”

“Good boy. Come on, let’s brush those teeth.”

And that night, as he slept with his cheeks smushed against Mingyu’s back, he didn’t dream about school or loneliness or the empty apartment that was waiting for him when he said goodbye to his friends. He dreamt of soft kisses and delicate praises and his one-day full heart. Of going to aquariums and fingers twisted together. He dreamt of love.


	2. one: blueberry pancakes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> posting chapter two bc im SUPER BORED and i love writing this story so much already
> 
> please enjoy!!!

Wonwoo woke up to the sounds of light shuffling and shushing. His head was still light, he still felt small. He tucked in on himself and grasped at the blanket tighter as the noises got louder. He wanted to sleep more.

“Vernon,” a hushed voice seemed to want to yell but couldn’t, “Vernon, get back out here. Wonnie is still sleeping.”

Wonwoo would recognize that delicate voice anywhere.

He quickly opened his eyes and sat up in the bed, coming face to face with a smiling Vernon at the side of the bed and Joshua standing in the doorway.

“Good morning, Wonnie!”

“Vernon, I told you to let him sleep,” Joshua rolled his eyes but entered the room anyway, tutting Vernon away before his sat on the bed, “good morning, sweet angel. How are we feeling today?”

Wonwoo understood what he was really asking, and he smiled as he rubbed the sleepiness out of his eyes, “hungry.”

Vernon climbed onto the bed and wedged himself between the two of them, Joshua huffing as he fell backwards lightly. The boy had his hair tied back in a white bandana and was wearing a hoodie from some sports team Wonwoo didn’t recognize. It was too big for him and covered his hands.

“Wonnie, daddy let me bring all my toys today. He said if you were still feeling tiny, we could play! Gyu is already playing. I even remembered to bring that green truck that you really liked last time. But you have to remember you can’t put i–“

“Alright, honey. I think you’re talking a bit too much for him this early in the morning. Why don’t you run into the living room and play with Gyu while I get Wonu set up for breakfast?” Joshua patted the other’s head, who was quick to nod and run off, disappearing into the living room.

“I want to play with trucks.” Wonwoo spoke quietly, playing with the blanket in his hands. And he did, he loved playing with Vernon. Joshua cooed gently and started to settle Wonwoo’s bedhead with his hand, “of course you do, love. But we have to get you up and dressed first, okay? Then brush those little teeth and hands, then breakfast. And then trucks.”

Wonwoo tried not to pout at this. That seemed like so many things before playing. But Wonwoo was never one to go against the rules so he sucked up his pout and nodded instead, “okay. I can wear one of Gyu’s sweaters again?”

“Of course you can. You know Gyu would let you borrow anything! Do you want to pick it out or do you want me to?”

Wonwoo’s silence answered Joshua’s question so the man stood up with a smile and began to rummage through Mingyu’s side of the closet. Wonwoo took that time to bundle himself up in the blankets again, still feeling sleep in his bones. He could hear Vernon and Mingyu laughing from the living room, Mingyu’s always being the loudest. The door creaked open and Wonwoo looked up to see Seungcheol’s head poke through.

“Oh good, he’s up! You got him, Shua?”

“Yup. He’s going to borrow more of Gyu’s clothes.” Joshua came back over to Wonwoo with a pastel purple hoodie and some fuzzy pajama pants, which Wonwoo crinkled up his nose at.

“No?”

“Shorts.”

“Oh no, angel. It’s too cold for shorts. You’ll freeze! Now don’t put up a fuss, let’s get ready.”

Wonwoo sleepily let Joshua guide him through his morning until he was finally seated at the table again, watching Mingyu and Vernon with jealous eyes. He wasn’t even that hungry. He spotted the green truck he liked so much and was about to stand up when Seungcheol sat down at the table with him, plate in hand.

“I made your favorite. Blueberry pancakes.”

And oh, how that peaked his interest. He turned his eyes back to the plate in front of him and smiled at the sight. It always made him feel so bright when Seungcheol would remember his favorite things. At home, Wonwoo had a stuffed elephant from the time Seungcheol and Joshua took them to the zoo. It was his most prized possession. 

“Hey! I didn’t get blueberry pancakes!” Vernon called from the living room, Joshua sighing as he too sat down at the table.

“Vern, you ate plenty for breakfast.”

The boy pouted, ditching his toys and joining them at the table, squeezing his way onto Joshua’s lap at the table.

“Yeah, but I didn’t get pancakes!”

“I made you oatmeal! You love oatmeal!” Joshua spoke sternly but even Wonwoo could catch the teasing tone in his voice. Joshua was always so gentle. 

“Wonnie,” Vernon leaned over the table, “give me a bite of your pancakes.”

“No, sir! Shua says you ate, that means you ate. Let Wonu eat his breakfast in peace, you little heathen.” Seungcheol swatted the boy away playfully, Vernon falling back against Joshua's chest with a pout. 

Wonwoo wasn’t sure what that word meant but the way Seungcheol said it made him laugh. He pulled the sleeves of the hoodies over his hands, balling them up into fists in his lap as he watched the three talk, Seungcheol pausing and looking over at him, “Wonu, you need to eat breakfast, love.”

He knew he did. He knew he _could._ He just really didn’t want to.

“Ah, little baby Wonu is very little this morning! He does that when he wants you to feed him. The sleeves thing.” Joshua spoke, patting Vernon’s back to stand up. Seungcheol raised his eyebrows at this, then quickly furrowed them.

“He stays at my house way more often than yours. How do you know that?”

“Because, if you’ll notice,” Joshua moved to the seat next to Wonwoo finally and grabbed the fork, quickly picking up a piece of pancake and holding it up, “Wonu gets extra small when Vernon is around. He and Mingyu are around the same age, yeah? Gyu maybe a year older. Vernon is older and Wonu likes the feeling of Vernon being kinda like his older brother, I guess.”

Wonwoo didn’t really care what they were talking about, he was just excited to be eating the pancakes. They were delicious and sweet without being too much to handle. The syrup made them extra soft and it was almost like they melted in his mouth. He was savoring every bite as the two continued talking. Wonwoo knew they were talking about him, he recognized his name every once in a while. But he was relishing in how every time Joshua lifted his fork, he would smile warmly and even make a funny voice.

It made his chest feel so full, he thought he was going to burst. 

“I guess you’re right, now that I think about it. That’s interesting. Wonu,” Seungcheol leaned forward and Wonwoo turned to face him after taking another bite from Joshua, “you like having an older brother?”

He mulled the question over in his head for a bit before nodding, “Vernie is nice.”

Seungcheol smiled at his, fondly and with care, “he is. And you, excellent boy, finished all your breakfast. Why don’t you go and play now?”

Wonwoo wasn’t sure he’d ever stood up so quickly, but he found himself sitting on the living room floor with Mingyu and Vernon in an instant.

“Here, Wonnie! I kept this one away from Mingyu so he wouldn’t break it.” Vernon held out the green truck to him and he took it with delicate hands. Mingyu broke a lot of toys. He never meant to. He just played a little rougher than Wonwoo, would make his action figures fly by actually throwing them. But Wonwoo wasn’t like that. Especially with Vernon’s toys. Vernon loved his toys, Wonwoo knew it would really upset him if one of them broke. So Wonwoo was careful as he dragged the truck across the carpet. He started to grind his teeth a little, his tongue pressed up against the back of them as he felt a strange emptiness.

Wonwoo looked down at his free hand as he sat back on his feet and decided on the easiest possible solution to fill it.

“Daddy! Wonnie’s sucking his thumb again.”

“Wow, you tattle tale!” Mingyu shouted and Wonwoo just watched the two with wide eyes. Had he done something wrong? He wasn’t sure what it was exactly, but it made him nervous. Seungcheol or Joshua never really punished Wonwoo before, only having a reason to once when he accidentally made Mingyu fall over and hurt himself. But he hated the forever feeling ten minutes that he had had to sit in time out for. And he certainly never wanted that again. 

“Daddy said it’s not good! It can do bad things to your teeth. That’s what he said last time Wonnie slept at our house.” Vernon spoke proudly, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“And right you are, Vernon. But you didn’t have to shout,” Joshua appeared next to Wonwoo, scaring him a bit but he quickly relaxed when Joshua took his hand gently out of his mouth, “remember how little he is? It’s okay, angel. Here, use this instead.” His thumb was quickly replaced by the familiar feeling of soft rubber and he smiled contently, happy that he wasn’t in trouble. Wonwoo didn’t like being in trouble.

“Sorry I shouted, daddy.”

“It’s okay, love. I know you were just looking out for your little Wonnie.”

“He _is_ my little Wonnie!” The boy practically shrieked, pitching his voice up more than several octaves. 

Vernon slid over to him and sat behind him, quickly pulling Wonwoo into his chest, who was all too happy to comply. Mingyu glared at the two of them, “no fair!”

“Don’t be jealous, baby. You get to spend plenty of time cuddling with just about everyone who is currently occupying our apartment.” Seungcheol laughed from the kitchen. Which was the truth. Mingyu was a lot like a koala in the sense that the boy loved to wrap himself around the person that was closest to him. Wonwoo never minded if that person was himself, being in Mingyu's large arms made him feel so small. 

Wonwoo spent the majority of his afternoon tucked neatly in Vernon’s arms, mostly forgetting the outside world until Joshua’s phone rang loudly from the kitchen. He was quick to answer it and the nosy part of Wonwoo strained his hearing to figure out what it was about.

“Yeah! Oh man, totally,” a brief pause, “oh yeah, he’d love that,” a laugh, “okay, for sure just text me the details. Great! Okay. See you later tonight then!”

“Who was that daddy?” Vernon asked from next to Wonwoo on the couch. The three were watching a television show that Wonwoo didn’t really like, but he knew it was Mingyu’s favorite.

“You remember Soonyoung? My friend from work?”

“Oh yeah, he’s funny!”

“He invited us out for drinks tonight with a few other friends. Would you want to come? You’d have to be big. You don’t have to.”

“Yeah, Vern. You can stay here if you want.” Seungcheol added from the kitchen table, where he’d been typing away on his laptop for over an hour.

“No, I want to come! Can Gyu and Wonnie and Cheolie come too?”

Wonwoo perked up at the mention of his name.

“Well,” Joshua paused for a moment and shared a glance with Seungcheol, “of course they’re invited. But I don’t know, honey. They might not want to be big. It’s been a while for Wonnie and Gyu likes his weekends.”

“I wanna go!” Mingyu shouted, causing Wonwoo to jump at the sudden noise.

“m’ to’” Wonwoo spoke around his pacifier. And he did. He wanted to go where his friends were going. Big or not.

“Alright well, I guess we’re going out then. Give Gyu about an hour then he’ll start to get ready. Wonu will need more time but that’s fine, he’s got big clothes that he leaves here so we can pick out an outfit for him,” Seungcheol closed his laptop and stretched out his limbs, Wonwoo figuring they must be hurting from all the time he’s spent hunched over, and he made his way over until he was crouched in front of Wonwoo and Mingyu, “alright boys, as much as I have so loved our time together, and we can absolutely continue it tomorrow because it’ll be Sunday, it’s time to be big boys again.”

After about an hour and half, Wonwoo was sitting at the kitchen table, scrolling mindlessly through his phone with his jacket on, oddly enough the only one ready to go.

“Hey, ang – Wonwoo,” he chuckled as Joshua caught himself, “you all set?”

“Stop babying me, I promise I’m fine! And yeah, I’m ready.”

It was always a weird time that neither Joshua or Seungcheol had figured out yet. Whether he was actually ready to go or not after spending time away from _Wonwoo_ and occupying his time with _Wonnie._ But he really was okay.

“Alright, alright. It’s so hard, though,” Joshua walked over and started to pinch his cheeks, Wonwoo trying desperately to get away from the quick moving fingers, “you’re still so cute.”

“Buzz off. Who are we meeting up with again?”

“Joshua’s friends from the office,” Vernon entered the room, adjusting his hair, “Soonyoung, Seokmin, Junhui, a few others. You’ll really like them. They’re super nice guys.”

Wonwoo nodded along but felt that familiar bubble in his stomach. He was never really great with other people, large groups and all that. He had a tendency to just stick to Seungcheol’s side whenever they went out, finding it easier to blend in rather than stand out. Wonwoo was clumsy with his words and didn’t really trust anybody but his friends to not judge him. But he wasn’t going to be the one sitting at home by himself again, not this time.

So, when they were all standing at the door, double checking their pockets to make sure they had keys, id’s, and everything else, he took a deep breath and tried to remind himself that he could be safe like this. He was safe just as he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading <3 
> 
> if you'd like to, i made a ls twitter literally this morning @littIevern (second L is a capital i !!) i'll be posting moodboards for this fic and other cute babyboy things !!!! 
> 
> comments and kudos are always so appreciated !!! <3


	3. two: strawberries and karaoke

Junhui was never really a huge fan of bars. They were too noisy, too cramped, and the bartenders all but got away with robbery with how much they charged him for a vodka soda. But he ordered one anyway.  What was he going to do? Say no?

He found his way back to his friends with ease, a large table with five empty seats for the others that would be joining them soon. Junhui would be lying if he said he wasn’t excited to meet Joshua’s friends. He and Joshua had been cubicle mates for the better half of the year but Junhui felt like he still knew so little about his life, along with Seungcheol, the other salesman, who Junhui was excited to spend some time outside the office with. He’d met Vernon, Joshua’s boyfriend, when he’d bring Joshua lunch are particularly rough days, and Junhui liked him almost immediately. He radiated warmth and had a boyish charm that made Junhui smile.

He sat down next to Seokmin, who was relenting a story to Soonyoung and Jeonghan about a horrible sales call from yesterday, one Junhui vividly remembered hearing from across the office. He’d been working for Nvidia for just over eight months now, a company that specialized in building and selling gaming computers. It was a weird job, to say the least, and there were a lot of days where Junhui would spend hard working hours lurking over Chan’s shoulder, watching the other test their newest systems. Junhui and Joshua were in charge of HR, he thought it would be an easy gig.

But nothing was really easy with this group.

He’d written up Seungkwan six times for bringing animals into the office. Seokmin had a large file on him with warnings for his office birthday parties.  He’d had to kick Chan out of the office multiple times because the other would try and stay later to play games. Soonyoung had a really strange habit of singing at the desk, which highly upset Jihoon, his cubicle mate, and Junhui had to have many conferences with the two of them, trying to find some steady ground.Their boss, Minghao, was the easiest to deal with. He was quiet and elusive but would always make a round through the office once a day to check on everyone. He was also seated at the table with the rest, a thick glass of heavy red wine in his hand. No one was surprised by that. But everyone was surprised when he said yes to coming out with them.

“You’re excellent with the clients, Seokmin. But sometimes you can come across,” Minghao spoke delicately, pausing to find the right word, “a little over zealous.”

“More like totally insane.” Chan piped up and Seokmin glared at him, “what would you know about sales? You get paid to play games all day!”

“Chan is a very important part of our company, Min,” Jeonghan slung an arm around the youngest, causing Junhui to smile, “don’t be angry with him just because you suck at video games.”

“Yeah, why do you even work for a gaming company? You can’t even play tetris!” Seungkwan added. Seokmin groaned and dramatically slammed his now empty glass down at the table, “I didn’t come here to be attacked! I would’ve gone to my mother’s house for that.” He nudged Junhui playfully and the entire table shared a hearty laugh before they were interrupted by clapping.

“Started the party without us?” Joshua half shouted at the group, all of them standing up and erupting into a fit of trying to say hello and talk first. It was always a mess of voices. Junhui noticed Seungcheol standing behind him and gave a quick wave. He wasn’t really that close to the other salesman, never really spent a lot of time with him. They’d shared quiet lunches in the breakroom together but that was about it. Not that Junhui didn’t like him, he really did, but Seungcheol seemed a little more reserved than Joshua.

“Hey, Jun! Long time no see!” Vernon suddenly appeared in front of him, enveloping him a tight hug with Junhui was quick to return.  

“You haven’t come to the office in forever! Please start bringing Joshua lunch again,” they both separated and Junhui pinched the others arm delicately, “he never eats his entire sandwich and always gives me the rest.”

Vernon laughed at this before turning his head back, “oh, let me introduce you to my friends! This is Mingyu, Seungcheol’s boyfriend. And our other friend, Wonwoo!”

Junhui was quick to extend his hand to Mingyu, surprised at how his hand seemed to disappear in the others. They shared a smile and a quick nice to meet you before he ducked away to say hello to the others.

Wonwoo was standing behind him and when the other came into sight, Junhui had to swallow thickly.

He was disgustingly _adorable._

The slight curl of his black hair could be seen poking out from the edges of the beanie he was wearing, and his round glasses were perched at the tip of his nose so delicately, Junhui was sure they would fall at any moment. His hands were in front of him, fingers nervously dancing together under the too long sleeves of his white sweater. He looked like he didn’t want to be here. He was also staring at Junhui, which made the other realize that he too had been staring for way too long.

Junhui quickly cleared his throat and stuck out his hand, “Hi! I’m Junhui, nice to meet you.”

“Wonwoo. Nice to meet you too.” He freed one of his hands from his sweater and shook Junhui’s quickly before retreating it again.

It was awkward, to say the least, and Junhui took a breath in, about to speak when Joshua appeared again, “oh good, you guys already met. Let me introduce you to everyone else and then we’ll get you something to drink.”

The way that Wonwoo nodded at this and allowed Joshua to steer him elsewhere, almost as if Joshua was explaining every step to him, was strangely endearing and Junhui had to tear his eyes away from the sight. Wonwoo reminded him of a lost puppy who just got thrown into the lion’s den. And in a way, he had. As soon as the other sat down, Seungkwan and Soonyoung quickly shrieked about how cute he was and Seokmin had to restrain the two, all but shouting, “he’s a PERSON. Not a display at the zoo, you monsters!”

“Hey, Hui. Can you help me at the bar getting everyone’s drinks?” Seungcheol appeared at his side, causing him to jump a little before he nodded, “yeah, of course.”

He set his own drink down and followed Seungcheol through the crowded bar once more, stopping once they reached the counter.

“Hey, can I get two rum and cokes, one vodka soda, a mai tai and a virgin strawberry daiquiri?” He spoke politely to the bartender, who was quick to nod and enter in the large order. 

Junhui creased his eyes at the last one, “virgin strawberry daiquiri?”

“Wonwoo doesn’t drink. But he likes the little umbrellas that come with daiquiris.” Seungcheol smiled, making a little twisty motion with his two fingers, which made Junhui laugh. Of course he does.

“How did you and Mingyu meet?” He took the time to ask, wanting to get to know the other more now that they had the time away from their stuffy office.

“Through Joshua, actually. Gyu, Vernon, and Wonwoo are all students at SU. Vern and Josh have been together for centuries and they both decided to set us up one day. We went on this horrible blind date that they organized,” he paused to pay the bill and nodded to the bartender when he said he’d be right up with their drinks, “it was a mess, to say the least. But it worked out in the end.”

“That’s so cute! I love blind date stories. I’m glad it worked out for you, though.”

“Yeah, me too. He’s great. I’m happy he came tonight. I’m not too,” Seungcheol paused, finding his words, “open around the office, I guess. Joshua is trying to get me to get better at that. Sorry if I’ve ever come across as rude or anything, really.”

Junhui was slightly taken aback by the sudden and unnecessary apology and he quickly shook his head, “no worries. It’s just work, anyway. I can understand not wanting to share your entire life to the office. Not all of us can be as bold as Seokmin. But I’m glad we’re all out! It’s going to be fun.”

The two collected all the drinks after their talk, heading back to the table which was easy to find as it was slammed with bodies and the volume level was rising by the second. Junhui handed Joshua his rum and coke and was left with Wonwoo’s incredibly silly looking daquiri.

“Here you go, Wonwoo. One strawberry daquiri.” Junhui took his seat again, sliding it across the table to Wonwoo, who looked up and smiled lightly, so delicately that Junhui was sure he’d miss it if he blinked, “thank you.”

The group quickly fell back into their usual mess of voices colliding with one other and desperately trying to be the one heard, while Junhui sat back and enjoyed the fun of all of it. It was something like a sitcom, really. When he'd gotten his first office job out of college, it was horrible and lonesome. He would go home to his apartment everyday and wish he had something. A friend, anything. But this job was different, and opened up his entire life. He rarely had moments alone anymore. Soonyoung often made himself at home with Junhui after work, the two sharing a glass of wine and unwinding from the day, often ordering way too much food for either of them to eat. Junhui's weekend were full of Jeonghan and Seokmin taking him out shopping or to see whatever new movie had just come out. He really couldn't remember the last time he felt lonely. 

He glanced over to Wonwoo again, who was following the conversation with his eyes while his hands were playing with the umbrella in the exact way Seungcheol had demonstrated, and Junhui set his drink down, slightly leaning forward, "so, you're a student at SU?"

Wonwoo looked at him quickly, almost like he was surprised someone was talking to him.

"Um, yeah. I'm a junior." 

"That's cool! I graduated from there two years ago. That business program is no joke. What's your major?" 

"Art. I know, it's kind of stupid. Everyone tells me I won't be able to do anything with it. But I enjoy it, so." The end of his sentence trailed off and he looked down at his sleeves again, tugging them over his fists and Junhui was so tempted to just  _hug_ the boy. He was so painfully sweet, Junhui was sure he rivaled the disgustingly sugary drink right in front of him. 

"It's not stupid at all. If you enjoy it, that's all that matters. And I'm sure there are plenty of jobs out there. Art galleries and things like that." 

"Wonwoo is an amazing artist! Woo, you should show him some of your stuff!" Joshua entered the conversation, very loudly, and Wonwoo shook his head with that small smile again, pushing up his glasses, "I don't know about that." 

Junhui, ever the observant one, couldn't help but chuckle as flushes of red appeared on Wonwoo's cheeks and ears. The more Joshua complimented him, the more he seemed to sink in on himself and Wonwoo had decided to keep himself busy with his drink, pushing the straw around and taking large sips until the glass was empty. 

"Here, let me get you another one. I'm out myself," Junhui shook his empty glass and stood up, "anyone else need anything?" 

The table erupted even further and he rolled his eyes, somehow remembering to take a mental note of everyone's orders. Just as he was about to turn away to head to the bar, Wonwoo also stood up, knocking one of his thin legs against the table and quickly stopping his empty glass from falling, "I'll um, I'll help you with the drinks." 

"Oh, great! Thank you!" 

The two made their way through the crowd, one that had significantly grown in past hour, and Junhui jumped a little when he felt a tug at the back of his shirt. He turned his head slightly and saw Wonwoo was following close behind him, but had also taken it upon himself to pinch the fabric between his fingers. Junhui was getting sick of how cute this damn boy was. He continued on, not wanting to say anything about that in case it made Wonwoo feel embarrassed or anything, and they found their way to the bar after a few swift maneuvers and ducks. 

"Sorry," Wonwoo started as they got to the bar, taking a stand next to Junhui, "I don't do so well in crowds." 

"That's okay! I take it you don't join Vernon when he goes to parties? I hear about them through Joshua, I thought it would make me miss my college days but I certainly do not miss those hangovers." 

He was delighted when he received a laugh from Wonwoo, "no. No parties for me."

Junhui didn't get much out of Wonwoo after that, or for the rest of the night for that matter. Just little smiles and laughs hidden behind his hand. They had a light back and forth that Junhui found himself enjoying more and more by the minute, appreciating every small sentence he got from Wonwoo. A few hours and several drinks had passed when Junhui found himself feeling like he was floating on a cloud as he watched Seokmin and Seungkwan belt out a song he didn't recognize on the karaoke stage. They had tried to drag him on but he wasn't a fan of that. He didn't feel like singing to crowd of drunk 20-somethings. Junhui didn't have the same kind of confidence he did. He was laughing at Seokmin's dance moves when he felt a presence next to him, turning his head to see Wonwoo sliding into the empty chair to his right. He had another drink in his hand, a pina colada this time, and Junhui smiled at the intense fruit decoration that topped it off. 

"You really like those sweet drinks, huh?"

"I have a bad sweet tooth." Wonwoo spoke matter of factly, sliding the slice of pineapple off the stick and munching on it delicately. 

"Are you having fun?" Junhui leaned in a little closer as Seungkwan hit a ridiculously high note, the sound taking up the entire space. Wonwoo didn't move away, thankfully, and they were shoulder to shoulder. 

"Yeah. More fun than I thought. Your friends are really funny," he nodded towards the stage and then looked around, "and really nice." 

"They're an interesting bunch to say the least. I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. You should come out with Vernon more often. He's always tagging along with Joshua," in a moment of boldness, and probably something to do with the  _several_ vodka sodas in his system, he rested his arm around the back of Wonwoo's chair, "it'd be nice to see you again." 

Junhui was never really the flirting type. He'd had crushes before and had been in several relationships, but those just kind of fell into his lap and then quickly fizzled out. He never went looking for anything, never set up a dating profile or agreed to be set up. He believed that these things happened organically for him. Junhui, the sober and tipsy parts of him, hoped that maybe this would be that type of organic he was looking for. 

"Really?" Wonwoo's voice pulled him out of his thoughts and he smiled lightly as he felt the other lean into his side a little bit. 

"Really really."

Wonwoo opened his mouth to speak again but Vernon suddenly appeared in front of them, eyes heavy lidded and face rosy from the alcohol. Joshua was hanging off his shoulders, equally as flushed and tired looking, "we need to go home now. Joshua is about to get sick and Mingyu is giving Seungcheol all but a complete lap dance in the corner." 

Disappointment replaced the feeling of whatever it was that was rising inside of him as Wonwoo nodded and stood up, beginning to gather his things. Junhui glanced over to the corner of the booth and had to hold in a laugh as yes, in fact, Mingyu was  _all over_ Seungcheol in every sense of the phrase. Hands wandering, lips meeting, clothes disheveled. That was surely something he would not let his coworker forget on Monday. He switched his gaze back to Wonwoo, who was sliding his jacket on, and Junhui quickly stood up to make sure he didn't let the opportunity slide. 

"Would be too forward of me to ask for your number?" He blurted out, probably too loudly and too quickly as Wonwoo paused and looked at him with curious eyes. Maybe it was too much. Maybe he'd read the small signs wrong. 

"Are you sure you're not just asking me because you're drunk?" Wonwoo finally spoke, doubt lacing every word and Junhui was almost relieved that that's what the other was worried about. 

"I am drunk, yes. But I promise that's not why. Sure, it's giving me a little more confidence," Wonwoo laughed at this and Junhui continued with a smile, "but I really would like to talk to you more. If that's okay." 

Turns out that yes, it was okay. After Junhui had finished speaking, Wonwoo was swept away by his friends but was able to quickly give his number to Junhui before he was all but shoved out the door of the bar. Junhui watched the door for a bit before returning to his seat, where he was quickly joined by Soonyoung and Minghao. 

"So, Wonwoo, huh?"

"Oh, shut up. I don't want to hear it."

"He's cute, Jun! I get it. If you hadn't said anything," Soonyoung leaned across the table and flicked his nose painfully, "I would've." 

Minghao laughed at this, finishing off the last of his wine as Seungkwan and Seokmin made their way back to the table and Chan joined them from the bathroom, "I don't think you're Wonwoo's type. He seems like the type to need someone a little more grounded."

Soonyoung huffed at this and crossed his arms over his chest, "I am  _incredibly_ grounded." 

"Yeah. Right. In what world?"

"Shut up, Chan! Does Minghao pay you extra to just bust everyone's balls all the time?"

Minghao and Chan exchanged a look which ensued a riot at the table. 

Another hour passed before everyone decided it was time to go home, Soonyoung inviting himself over to Junhui's apartment as his was "too far away" to take a cab to, even though they lived about the same distance away from the bar. But Junhui was never one to say no. They shared a long goodbye and Soonyoung chatted most of the way back and as they entered the apartment. Junhui's cat, Popo, was lounging on his kitchen table and he swatted at her butt. He had to get better at making sure she didn't decide to nap where he ate his food. 

"I swear you have the most comfortable couch in the entire world." Soonyoung said as he fell onto it, kicking off his shoes and tucking a pillow under his head. Junhui removed his own shoes and poured two glasses of water and four advil, leaving two on the living room table for his friend along with the extra glass. 

"I'm glad you find it to your liking, good sir." 

Soonyoung opened his eyes only to roll them before settling in again and mumbling a lazy and drunken goodnight. Junhui snorted a laugh and finally allowed himself the yawn that he had been holding in for the past couple of hours. He made his way to his bedroom, Popo happily meowing and dancing around his feet as he did so, and he rushed through his nightly routine, just wanting to hole himself in his bed as quickly as he could. 

Popo had a habit of sleeping on his face most nights, not even next to it, so it was no surprise that as soon as his head hit the pillow, her body curled into his neck. He groaned and pushed her away, "stop it, stupid cat. Just let me get one peaceful night of sleep. Please. It's been eight years now." 

She meowed in reply and he narrowed his eyes at her, "whatever. Goodn -"

He was cut off by his phone dinging, indicating a text message. He figured it was one of his friends, maybe they had forgotten something at the bar, but as he raised his screen to his face, illuminating it in the darkness of his room, Junhui couldn't help the wide smile that stretched across his face. It was a wall of texts. One right after the other. And normally that would bother him. But not this time. 

 

**from: Wonwoo**

hi. i'm sorry i'm texting you so late. 

just wanted to say thank you for being so nice to me. 

i really enjoyed talking to you. and i hope we can do it more. 

talking, that is. 

anyway um yeah.

i'm going to sleep now but feel free to text me anytime.

goodnight junhui <3 

 

Sleep was threatening to claim him at any moment and he knew he wouldn't be able to respond properly until the next morning but he didn't want to leave Wonwoo with no reply. His response was short and sweet, enough to leave him able to fall asleep with a warm feeling in his chest and the prospect of a happy dream on the horizon. 

 

**To: Wonwoo**

i really enjoyed talking to you as well

sweet dreams, wonwoo <3 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter ended up being so long OML 
> 
> sorry no little things happened :( i was telling arle i wish i could just be like  
> "okay wonwoo and junhui meet and BOOM wonwoo is little and cute and yup junhui youre his daddy!!!"  
> but they have to Big Boy meet first hehe
> 
> i hope you guys liked this! i had a lot of fun writing this one. 
> 
> be sure to follow me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/littIevern) !  
> i just made it the other day so i have like no posts but id love to be friends with more people in the cglre / svt community uwu 
> 
> comments and kudos always appreciated <3 tysm for all the love so far!


	4. three: flowers and bunnies

Monday came before Wonwoo was really ready for it and he groaned as his alarm went off at a glaring 7:00am. He sat up begrudgingly and ran his fingers through his hair and over his eyes before shutting the noise off, taking a deep breath and thinking about the week ahead of him and the weekend that had just passed. It was interesting, to say the least.

He got to spend some much-needed time with his friends which alleviated a lot of his stress, thankfully.

And then there was Junhui.

He’d spent most of his time yesterday sitting on his couch, ignoring his art history homework for his phone screen, which was constantly lit up from texts from the other. He found it hard not to smile, so much that by the end of the day, his face hurt. Junhui was funny and charming, sweet and kind. But Wonwoo was also afraid of that. It was too soon to say if they would become anything. But he could tell that Junhui liked him, at least a little bit. Or maybe he was just telling himself that.

Wonwoo hadn’t dated anybody in quite a long time. Or at least anybody who could really give him the type of relationship he was looking for. He wished that he could say it didn’t give him anxiety to think about that one-day conversation with Junhui should they continue whatever it was that was blossoming between them, but it did. An intense amount. Which was foolish, he told himself as he got out of bed and quickly hopped into the shower.

They’d met once and texted. That was it.

Wonwoo was always horrible at getting ahead of himself.

He was ready for class after about an hour, most of that spent was spent with him staring at the shower wall and having imaginary conversations with Junhui, and shortly after that, he found himself on campus, cursing whoever decided that 9:00am classes were a thing. Luckily, Vernon was in his first class so that was always a brightside. As if on que, the other shouted his name from outside the classroom and started to wave frantically. Vernon was always strangely awake and aware around this time.

“Morning, Vern.”

“Morning! How was your day yesterday? You didn’t come over to Seungcheol’s.” Vernon spoke with a pout as they entered the room and took their usual seats in the back.

“Ah, yeah. I wanted to but I had a lot of work to catch up on.”

And he did really want to. The itch kept creeping up his spine every time he would get a little frustrated with his homework but unfortunately, his adult life took precedence.

“We missed you. Have you spoken to Junhui at all? Joshua said you guys kind of hit it off at the bar. Not that I trust his words, really. He was three sheets to the wind.”

Wonwoo felt his face heat up at the question and he lightly shrugged, “yeah, I’ve been texting with him.”

Vernon was about to speak again when their professor started speaking, thankfully. Wonwoo wasn’t really ready to talk to his friends about it. They would get too excited and convince him that he and Junhui would be “cute together” or other variations on that.

He was trying to focus on the lecture when his phone vibrated in his pocket and he quickly took it out, hiding it behind his laptop screen. 

 

**From: Junhui**

good morning wonwoo! i hope you slept well

wait shit youre in school now ignore me. hope you have a good day in class!

 

**To: Junhui**

its okay  **ヽ** ( **ﾟ** ｰ **ﾟ** * **ヽ** )

this class is really boring anyway

 

**From: Junhui**

PLEASE stop using those emoticons they are TOO CUTE

and also BAD, no texting in class

 

**To: Junhui**

but youre texting at work v( ‘.’ )v

 

**From: Junhui**

...............valid point

alright i know its like 9:45 in the morning but i was thinking

maybe you and i could go out this friday? maybe see a movie or something? get some dinner?

 

Wonwoo couldn't help but smile at his phone screen, typing out a message before deleting it, then typing it out again, then deleting it again. He looked up to make sure he wasn't missing anything important before deciding to just type it and hit send without even really looking. He was too anxious. 

 

**To: Junhui**

like...a date?

 

His leg nervously bounced underneath his desk, earning him a strange look from Vernon which he quickly ignored as he saw the little bubbles of Junhui typing. 

 

**From: Junhui**

yeah, a date. 

sorry im bad at asking oh my god 

to be honest i havent done the whole dating thing in a while. 

but id really like to get to know you more 

 

**To: Junhui**

id like that ≧◡≦

 

**From: Junhui**

youre so cute im physically ill

what time are you done with class on friday? 

 

**To: Junhui**

4pm ish usually

 

**From: Junhui**

great! i can pick you up around 6? if that works for you? 

i know this great sushi place downtown 

 

**To: Junhui**

that sounds great 

 

**From: Junhui**

awesome. its a date then! ive got to get back to work now

i'll text you later

have a good day, wonwoo <3 

 

**To: Junhui**

okay

have a fun day at work, junhui (o´ω｀o)

 

Wonwoo found that the best part of texting Junhui was that he wasn't really that nervous. They had a long conversation yesterday that allowed Wonwoo to just type instead of talk, it was fun for him. He didn't have to feel the others eyes on him in any sort of way like he did that Saturday night. Junhui's eyes made him nervous. Not in a bad way, really. In the way that Wonwoo found them to be so pretty, that being under their gaze made him want to shrink in on himself and hide. Like he wasn't worthy of that kind of attention. He locked his phone and quickly realized that going on a date with Junhui meant he could no longer hide behind his screen. He surely couldn't just text Junhui through their date when he'd be sitting right across from him. He allowed some speckles of doubt to wash in, maybe Junhui would realize that he's really not that cute when he can't express himself with emoticons and instead, he was awkward and clumsy and quiet. 

He spent the rest of his day thinking of ways that he would probably mess this date up, not really snapping out of it until he was at Joshua and Vernon's shared apartment later that night, sharing dinner with the two.

"What's got you a funk today? Ever since this morning you've been all," Vernon started to gesture vaguely into the air with his free hand, "spacey." 

He played with the food on his plate for a moment before answering, "Junhui asked me to go on a date with him on Friday."

"Wonwoo! That's great! Oh, I knew you guys would hit it off. Are you nervous about it?" Joshua's familiar caring tone came into play and Wonwoo nodded. He'd been so tense all day. He needed that. 

Joshua reached out and touched his hand, "it's okay to be nervous, Woo. But I promise, Junhui is a really really great guy. He's so funny and sweet, and you're amazing. You guys are going to have a lot of fun. I promise he's just a goofy and dorky as you are once you get to know him."

This made Wonwoo laugh, having a hard time picturing Junhui as any sort of dorky. 

"Won, you seem super stressed right now. I don't want to force you into anything but maybe you need to just take the rest of the night to relax, yeah? You don't have class tomorrow and I don't until later in the afternoon so you can stay the night here. Right, Joshua?" Vernon asked, all three at the table knowing what he really meant. And yeah, Wonwoo really did need to relax.

"Of course. It's only five, you know. The night is still very young! Whatever you want to do, Wonwoo. Maybe even mister Vernnie wants to come out to play? Is that what all this is about, hm?" Joshua waved his fork in Vernon's face, who turned his smile into a pout, "I'm just trying to look out for my friend!" 

Joshua hummed knowingly and squeezed Wonwoo's hand one more time, "I'll get some clothes for you guys out of the bedroom. I'll be right back." 

The older got up from the table and swiftly disappeared into the bedroom, Wonwoo watching him before turning back to Vernon, "are you sure that's alright?"

"Please, I've had a shitty day too. Plus," Vernon leaned in closer, Wonwoo watching all of his features soften at once and his eyes light up, "I bet we can totally swindle some ice cream out of this." 

"I can hear you, you know!" Joshua shouted from the bedroom and the two shared a laugh, hiding behind hands and with closed eyes. It was always easier with Vernon than it was with Mingyu, Wonwoo noticed over the past couple of years. Not that he didn't love Mingyu and his time with him, but it was different with Vernon. He made him feel different.  _Smaller._ And he fell into it quickly, like being wrapped into a tight, soft blanket that enveloped his entire body. 

 Joshua returned with two large hoodies in his arms and Vernon's favorite wrapped up white bandana in one of his hands. Vernon was quick to stand up and grab it, more like snatch it, away and tie his hair back as Joshua rolled his eyes and shook his head, "you could, at the very least, say please and thank you!" 

"Please and thank you! Can I get out my toys?" 

"Yeah, but not too many and nothing too small, okay? No legos," Joshua turned to Wonwoo and looked at the two hoodies before choosing the large blue one, slipping it over Wonwoo's head gently and petting his hair when he was swallowed whole by it, "we have to remember who we have with us." 

Vernon darted into the living room, Wonwoo following behind him and sitting down on the carpet, and he pulled out a large bin that was tucked between their couch and the wall. Joshua joined them by sitting on the couch with a mug of tea and a fond smile on his face, one that always made Wonwoo feel so safe. Wonwoo didn't really feel like playing with toys, but he was always bad at saying that. He wanted to be with Vernon, of course, but wasn't in much a mood for that. He didn't want to make a scene or hurt Vernon's feelings and it was starting to make him a little nervous as toy after toy was presented in front of him with the excitement ringing in Vernon's voice as he got out each one. 

"Vern, why don't you play with those on your own for now? I think Wonnie wants to do something else, hm? What do you feel like doing right now, baby?" Joshua set his mug down as he leaned forward and Wonwoo looked up at him from his spot on the floor. 

"Color." Was all he said in return and Joshua nodded quickly, "of course. I have some books leftover from the last time you were here, I'll run and grab them for you." 

Wonwoo smiled and nodded at this, happy he didn't upset anybody with his request. Vernon grabbed a large Iron Man figure and held it out to Wonwoo with a large smile on his face, "check this one out, Wonnie! It's brand new. Daddy got it for me the last time we went out. Isn't it so cool? It makes noises and stuff but it's kind of loud so I won't show you that part. But it's so cool!" Vernon made it fly around with his hand and some noises came out of his mouth that made Wonwoo laugh lightly. Joshua returned and set the coloring book down on the table along with the crayons and Wonwoo scooted himself forward, opening it quickly and flipping through the pages. He felt Vernon peaking over his shoulder and the boy was quick to stop Wonwoo's flipping at a page of flowers and a two bunnies.

"Wonnie, can you color that one for me? It can be like we're the bunnies! Right, daddy," Vernon looked up at Joshua as the man returned to his place on the couch, "you always call us bunnies!"

"That's right, baby. The cutest little bunnies." 

Wonwoo, of course, agreed to color that one for his friend and took his time picking out the perfect colors for the flowers. Wonwoo liked to color the most, it was his favorite relaxing activity and he probably took it a little  _too_ seriously. He didn't like to color outside the lines and sometimes Gyu would tease him about how creased his eyebrows would get when he was focusing too hard on making it perfect. But Wonwoo never kept the pages he colored, he always gave them to Gyu or Vernon or Joshua or Seungcheol. It had to be perfect for them so they would like it and tell him he did a good job. Wonwoo picked up the first yellow crayon but his eyes landed on something else when he reached for it. Joshua had also set the light blue pacifier on the table, one that was only here for Wonwoo as Vernon was too big for those. He started to chew on his lip for moment, glancing up at Joshua who seemed distracted by finding something to put on the television, before he quickly grabbed it and popped it in his mouth. His relief and sense of comfort was increased tenfold and he nearly sank into the floor. 

He was about halfway done with the page when the sound of his phone going off in his jacket pocket caused him to look up to where it was hanging at the entrance of the apartment and he furrowed his eyebrows. 

"Want me to check that for you, love?" Joshua spoke and Wonwoo nodded, watching as the man stood up and dug the phone out of the jacket, smiling at the screen as it illuminated his face, "ah, it's Junhui. Little Wonnie remembers Junhui, right?"

How could any part of Wonwoo  _forget_ Junhui?

He opted for nodding and trying to forget how comfortable Junhui made him feel when they were sitting at the table together, Junhui's arm wrapped around the back of his chair. How Wonwoo started to sink into his side before they were interrupted. 

"He's wondering what you're up to. Want me to just tell him that you're busy and you'll talk to him tomorrow?"

"Hey! Wonnie and Junhui are going on a date on Friday," Vernon crawled up next to him, "maybe Junhui can be your daddy, Wonnie!" 

Wonwoo felt his face heat up at this and he tightened his lips around his pacifier, looking back down at the table and his nearly done drawing. 

"Baby, I don't think Wonnie's ready to talk about that, or even think about that yet, so let's not get too ahead of ourselves, okay? I told him you'll talk to him tomorrow and even included one of those little faces you always use," Joshua made himself laugh with that one, "your drawing looks so good, love! Let's get back to thinking about that." 

And so, he did. He returned to immersing himself in coloring and giving Vernon attention every once in a while when the boy would pull out a different toy. 

Wonwoo finished the final details before setting the crayon down and smiling lightly. He grabbed the book and held the page up to Vernon, who looked up quickly, "I 'inishe'" 

"Wonnie! It's so pretty! Daddy, can we put this on the fridge, please? Wonnie did it just for me!" 

Joshua looked up from his phone and smiled widely, "of course we can. It's beautiful, Won. You did such a good job." 

The praise made his heart soar and he watched with keen eyes as the page was delicately removed from the book and Joshua placed it on the fridge, held up by a small blue magnet. He allowed his mind to wander to Junhui again. If maybe one day Wonwoo could color something for him and if he would like it as much as Joshua and Vernon seemed to. It was dangerous thinking, and the big part of him knew that, but the little part didn't. In the perfect world he started to imagine as Joshua started to talk to Vernon about cleaning up his toys so they could settle in and watch a movie, Junhui would pet his hair and call him a good boy, would make him a cup of hot cocoa and allow Wonwoo to curl into his side warmly. 

From their conversations, Junhui seemed to like big Wonwoo, even just a little bit already. In his hopes, Wonwoo thought that maybe Junhui could be the one to like little Wonwoo too. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tysm for 30+ kudos on this! i was expecting like....4 so i'm very happy hehe 
> 
> as always, follow me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/littIevern)
> 
> comments and kudos always appreciated <3 
> 
> thanks again, i love u guys !!!!!!!!!!!! <3


	5. four: life according to joshua

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys!
> 
> an important note about this chapter: i know we're all super excited for junhui and wonwoo's date but i still really wanted to set up wonwoo's little space in more concrete detail, which i was finding really hard to do from his point of view. bc hes so little :( it's hard to write that without it almost coming across really comical? and i was unhappy with it. so i've decided to write this one from joshua's POV, that way you guys can get a full picture on what wonwoo (and the other babies!!) are really like in their respective little spaces. there is absolutely NO plot in this chapter, it's purely fluff and more little world building, so if you're not interested in that, totally okay if you don't read! the next update will get the plot going and back to wonhui ^_^ 
> 
> thanks so much and hope you guys enjoy this one!

It wasn't often that Joshua felt stressed. He didn't let things get to him, he was always really good at letting any inconveniences roll off of him. This "special skill", as Seokmin often called it, set up him for a very comfortable and easy life. Even when he'd have to mediate meetings between a yelling Jihoon and a singing Soonyoung, or that time Seungkwan brought three hamsters into the office, he smiled and made his way through it. A lot of that had to do with Vernon. As did most aspects of his life. Before he met Vernon, he didn't smile nearly as much. He'd let things bother him. He'd get angry, annoyed. How lucky he was that things were different. 

It was nearing seven o'clock and Joshua was seated on the couch in he and Vernon's shared living room, absentmindedly flipping through channels while Vernon and Wonwoo were on the floor, not making too much noise but enough to fill the tiny space. He had already agreed to let the two stay up late tonight, as Vernon only had one class the next day starting in the late afternoon and Wonwoo luckily didn't have any, so he knew he had to prepare more activities for them to do. It wasn't a rare occurrence that Vernon would grow bored of his toys after about an hour and a half and whine to Joshua that he wanted to do something else. Wonwoo, the ever quiet one, usually just went along with whatever Vernon wanted to do. 

He glanced down at the two just in time to catch Vernon about to slam two of his toys together and he sat up quickly, "ah, no. If you're going to play like that, we'll do it when Wonnie isn't here. You know the loud noises scare him." 

Vernon nodded a few times and pushed one of the trucks away, diving right back into his quick speech about how cool they were to Wonwoo, who was just following with his eyes and nodding along. Joshua was never really sure with Wonwoo, it seemed to be different every time. With Vernon, it was always the same. He was always the same age, liked the same things, wanted his hair tied back with that same white bandana. But with Wonwoo, it always so hard to tell. He was littler than Vernon, Joshua knew that much, but it seemed to vary on just  _how little_ he could be. But regardless of that, Joshua knew he hated loud noises. Hell, even big Wonwoo hated loud noises. 

He opened his mouth to say something else when his phone went off next to him and he sat back, picking it up and seeing a notification from Seungcheol. 

 

**From: Seungcheol**

please tell me youre home

911!!!!!!!!!

this is an EMERGENCY 

**To: Seungcheol**

yeah, im home. whats wrong???? are you okay????

**From: Seungcheol**

oh thank god

im already in your building

 

Joshua furrowed his eyebrows at this. 

 

**To: Seungcheol**

what the hell would you have done if i wasnt home?

vernon (obviously) and wonwoo are here 

correction

vernie and wonnie are here

 

He didn't get a reply from this, instead just a loud knocking at the door. 

Vernon and Wonwoo stopped playing and both focused their attention to where the noise came from, Vernon looking excited and Wonwoo looking nervous. 

"I think we have a visitor, boys!" Joshua spoke as he stood up and walked towards the door, knowing Seungcheol was on the other side but not exactly knowing what to expect. 

 Joshua was quick to open the door, a warm smile on his face and a greeting on his lips but two large bodies all but pushed him out of the way and he pouted lightly, "well, hello to you too, I guess."

Their clothes were a bit damp from the light rain that had started earlier and Mingyu seemed to pop up from under the large rain coat Seungcheol had draped over him. And in that instant, Joshua immediately recognized the look in his eyes. Everything clicked into place. While Joshua didn't have Wonwoo figured out yet, Mingyu was an open book. The easiest to read, to understand and adapt to. He wore his emotions on his face and didn't ever hold them back. 

"Thanks. Sorry about this, we were alone in the apartment and he started crying about Vernon and Wonwoo and I figured you guys would be together because Won usually has dinner with you guys anyway and so I just thought it would be f- Hey! No, no, Gyu. Bad. We do  _not_ put shoes in our mouths!" Seungcheol half yelled, taking the sneaker away from Mingyu, who was quick to pout and make grabby hands at it. Joshua reached out and grabbed the shoe out of Seungcheol's hand, away from the long reach of Mingyu's arms and he smiled, "it's no problem. We weren't really doing anything anyway. Are you guys hungry? I have leftovers or we can order some more food."

"Pizza!" Vernon shouted from the living room and Mingyu seemed to perk up at the noise, quickly running into the living room and joining the other two boys on the floor. 

"He won't be able to eat anything solid so I brought some stuff for him," Seungcheol gestured to the bag he'd placed on the ground, "but I'm starving. I'll chip in for a pizza?" 

"Pizza," Vernon repeated, clapping his hands together a few times, "Wonnie, want do you want on your pizza?" 

Joshua loved the way that Vernon spoke to Wonwoo when they were like this, so soft and gentle. So caring and sweet, each word laced with genuine love and tenderness. He was like that with Mingyu, Joshua supposed, but not to the same extent. Maybe that's because no matter the age, Mingyu was loud and demanded attention, he'd bash toys around and had the tendency to break things. Wonwoo was never like that. He'd play, of course, but it was always so reserved. Vernon had told Joshua years ago that even when he was little himself, he just wanted to take care of Wonwoo. 

"Peppernoni."

"Pepperoni, little guy. Hi, boys. How are you?" Seungcheol corrected Wonwoo before greeting him with a ruffle of his hair, the same sentiment following to Vernon's already messy hair. 

"Hi, Cheolie. Is Gyu having a sleepover like Wonnie?" 

"I don't think so, bud. He just wanted to come over and spend some time with his best friends! Now, Vernie, he's feeling super little tonight so no rough stuff, okay?" 

Vernon, always the one to follow directions, nodded and smiled widely, "sure thing, Cheolie! Wonnie is super little too, so Daddy already told me to be careful."

In typical Mingyu fashion, as Seungcheol was distracted with his hellos and conversation with Vernon, Joshua saw him pick up one of the smaller trucks and hold it up to his mouth. Joshua quickly rushed over and plucked it out of his hands, placing it in the large bin that held most of Vernon's toys. He'd proofed most of the place while Wonwoo was distracted with coloring earlier, but now that Mingyu was here, it was a slightly different story. Little Mingyu was curious and active, but his curiosity would just lead him to get really close to Joshua's face and ask him a string of questions that he did not know the answers to. Baby Mingyu's curiosity lead him to shove just about anything into his mouth to see if he could swallow it. 

"Why don't we put the toys up, Vernonie? Cheolie and I will order a couple pizzas but you can only have a couple pieces because you already ate," he paused as Vernon whined lightly, "stop that. You'll get a stomach ache if you eat too much! Wonnie, can you put the crayons that you used away for me, please?" 

He wasn't sure if Wonwoo could really handle that or not but he received a small nod from the boy and was pleased with that enough to join Seungcheol at the kitchen table, the other already opening up Joshua's laptop to enter in their pizza order. He glanced back at the living room while his friend got everything set up and with watchful eyes and a slight smile, observed Wonwoo organizing all the crayons by color and delicately placing them back in the box with gentle fingers and his tongue poking out from his lips. Mingyu had clamored himself onto Vernon's lap, a slightly comical sight due to their size difference, and Vernon was keep him entertained with pokes and tickles. Joshua's mind flashed back to Junhui and he felt a strange feeling in his chest. Not pain, not hurt. Concern, he landed on. He was concerned. 

"Hey, you know Wonwoo and Junhui have a date on Friday?" Joshua spoke lowly, not wanting the little boy in the living room to hear his name and try and join the conversation. 

Seungcheol stopped typing and looked at him with raised eyebrows, "no shit? That's great! I knew they would hit it off. Why do you sound hesitant about it?" He went back to the laptop screen and Joshua huffed slightly, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back in the chair.

"How could I not be? Wonwoo can't be with someone who doesn't," he paused and gestured quickly to the living room, "get it. Maybe there's a way we can bring it up to Junhui in the office?"

"Oh yeah, totally. How would that go? How does one  _casually_ bring up little space? And you, sir, are in HR! That seems like a big no no topic." 

Seungcheol was, as he always was, right. There really was no casual way to bring it up. But he kept his eyes on Wonwoo, lazily answering Seungcheol's questions about the pizza, and laughed lightly as Wonwoo showed Vernon that he had put the crayons away in their exact rainbow order. He was always so proud of the things he did, rightfully so. And Vernon praised him for that, earning a blush and shy smile from Wonwoo. Joshua knew a life before Vernon's little space, before taking care of Wonwoo when he needed it. But he didn't even really like to think of that. How could anyone  _not_ want this, he often found himself asking. When Vernon would smile up at him with bright eyes and show him how his toys played or when Wonwoo would mumble something that didn't really make any sense behind his pacifiers, Joshua's chest erupted into warmth like a garden blooming directly in his heart's chambers. 

Junhui was kind and caring. Compassionate and funny, smart and witty. He'd be a good caregiver, Joshua could tell that just from the way the other would take care of mediation meetings. He was soft spoken and gentle with his terminology. Joshua was getting ahead of himself, but he knew Wonwoo was to, and as Wonwoo's fill in caregiver for the past what felt like ever, he felt protective over what would happen to the boy. Over who would try and steal his heart. His precious, sweet, sensitive heart. He wasn't hard to take care of, not by a long shot. Joshua had only seen him cry a handful of times. He needed to be held, he liked to color and have a pacifier so he wouldn't suck his thumb. He liked to watch bright and colorful animes and eat dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets. 

Wonwoo was a good boy, and Joshua was losing himself in the thoughts of Junhui hopefully seeing that one day. 

"Daddy," Vernon interrupted his derailed train of thought, "can I have my iPad? I want to show Wonnie a funny youtube video!" 

"Which one?" 

"The fox one!"

Of course. Vernon's little space consisted of far too many animal compilations on youtube and as much as Joshua adored his boyfriend and animals, he would surely go insane if he had to listen to that fennec fox laughing again. But who was he to deny Vernon of...anything? 

"It's in the top drawer of my bedside table," Vernon was quick to dart off before Joshua was even able to finish his sentence, "please be careful!" 

"Where are they going on their date?" Seungcheol asked, closing the laptop.

"I'm not sure. I didn't get a lot out of him about it before he slipped, which is fine. He'll tell us when he wants to. It just sucks, you know? I'm sure he's worried about it. It's not like it's something he can hide. And he deserves to be in a happy relationship, we all want that for him," Seungcheol was nodding along with his words, "I just wish that I could d-"

"Dada!" Mingyu suddenly appeared at the table, scooting himself up against Seungcheol's legs and tugging on the fabric of his pants. 

"Hi, baby. Are you having fun with your friends?" 

Mingyu didn't reply with words, as was to be expected, and instead a string of giggly noises and a few claps escaped him and Seungcheol reached out, pushing some hair out of the boys face, "we'll feed you dinner soon, okay? Let's wait for everyone else. Let's go watch this video with Vernonie and Wonu, yeah?" 

The rest of the night went by in a flash and after some long and very drawn out goodbyes with Seungcheol and Mingyu, Vernon was passed out in bed and Joshua was tucking Wonwoo into the guest bedroom. Normally, he wouldn't mind sharing he and Vernon's space with the boy, but Wonwoo seemed pretty dead set on sleeping on his own. Well, his own meaning himself and the three plushies he was currently holding to his chest. Joshua was more than certain he would wake up with Wonwoo pressed to his other side in the morning. 

"Do you need anything else? More blankets?"

Wonwoo shook his head, eyes heavy and lips still sealed around his pacifier, "no. 'omfy."

"Are you sure you don't want to stay with Vernie and I? You know I don't mind, Won. It can be kind of scary in here by yourself."

"I can slee' by 'yself." Wonwoo spoke delicately, pulling the blankets up to his chin and looking determined. 

"Of course you can, you're a very brave boy," Joshua brushed the stray black hairs out of Wonwoo's face, "but you know you're always welcome with us, okay? Always. Not just tonight. You know that, don't you?"

He knew Wonwoo wouldn't really catch on to what he was saying, but he still needed to hear it. That Wonwoo knew he was always here for him. 

"Yes. 'hua alway take car' of me." 

Joshua smiled at this, the concern melting into a warm puddle in his stomach, "I do. And I always will. As long as you need me. Now, you get some sleep. I'll be gone in the morning but Vernon will be here and he'll be his big self if you need him. I'll let the closet light on for you, is that alright?" 

Wonwoo just responded with a nod and Joshua wished him sweet dreams and a restful sleep, planting a chaste kiss on his forehead before exiting the bedroom and walking into the kitchen to clean up a little before he went to bed himself. It was still fairly early for him, nearing nine pm but the night had exhausted him. Mostly his own fault and his constantly running mind. On the counter, Wonwoo's phone was charging and was lit up with a text message. It wasn't like Joshua to be nosy, to invade his friends privacy. And really he wasn't. It was just a glance, just a quick finger to the home button to light up the screen and his eyes quickly scanning the notification. It's not like he unlocked it. Not at all. 

It was a text from Junhui, just a simple one. Joshua couldn't help but smile as he noticed the little happy face emoticon that was saved next to Junhui's name.

 

**From: Junhui (✿ ♥‿♥)**

i know you're busy tonight! i was just thinking about you 

which is weird because we've only met once

but yeah

i uhhhhhhhhhhhhh

i'm excited for our date 

anyway, i'll leave you to it. talk to you tomorrow wonwoo

goodnight <3 

 

Joshua let out a small breath through his nose as he ran a hand through his hair and lightly pushed the phone away from him, feeling a little guilty for reading his friend's texts. Whatever would happen between Junhui and Wonwoo was just that. It would happen. Joshua looked towards the guest bedroom again, the small closet light dimly shining through the door and as much as he loved it, was happy to do it, he couldn't help but hope for Wonwoo to start spending his nights with someone else. Someone who understood him. Someone who loved him. 

 


End file.
